Welcome Back to Camp!
by movystr2b
Summary: Percy and Annabeth return to camp only to find that Rachel has a new prophecy to share with them! More details in the story! Comment if you'd like! ENJOY! :D
1. Where Else Would I Be?

**A/N:** Hey guys! New PJO FanFic! (Finally!) Pretend that my last story (The Second Summer) never happened, but the Last Olympian did happen. Comment if you'd like! : )

Percy POV:

"Over there, Argus," I told the blue-eyed driver. He steered the taxi over to a big white building on Queenwood's campus, Annabeth's school. It was a huge school; Annabeth had to love it.

"Annabeth!" I called to her through the open window. Her gray eyes glanced up from a book she was reading, and she spotted me.

"Percy!" Annabeth ran over to the car. I got out, and she grabbed me into a huge hug. I felt a little color seep to my face.

"Hey," I smiled at her.

"So," she gestured to the campus, "do you like it?"

"It's awesome. How do _you_ like it? You go to school here."

"I love it. I think it's beautiful. And the architectural classes are amazing!"

"Good. Now load your bags into the car. We have some catching up to do."

In about five minutes, Annabeth and I were on our way to Camp Half-Blood.

"So, how's Olympus coming?" I asked her.

"Pretty good," she replied. "The gods keep nagging me about it though."

"Really?"

"Not Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth punched me lightly in the shoulder. "They probably have way better things to do."

"So do the other gods," I insisted. "Who nags you? Your mom?"

"Nah, my mom's okay about it. But, like, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo. _Especially_ Apollo."

"What do you mean?" I asked, a smile creeping onto my face.

Annabeth, oblivious to my expression, continued. "Well, the other day, during class, I glanced out the window for a split-second. And there's Apollo, standing in one of his muscle-man poses smiling at me and mouthing the words 'Statues of me'!"

I cracked up, imagining the Sun God posing outside Annabeth's school. Annabeth soon joined me laughing.

By the time we stopped laughing, Argus grunted. We glanced out the window. We had arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

After unloading all of our bags, we walked over to our cabins. Annabeth stepped back and folded her arms.

"It looks good," she said.

"Huh?"

She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "The cabins, Seaweed Brain. We redid them because of your wish last year, remember?"

I glanced around the cabins. Instead of a "U" the formation had become a complete rectangle.

"It _does_ look great," I replied. She nodded, them turned around to head to the Athena cabin.

"See you at dinner, Seaweed Brain?" she asked.

I grinned. "Where else would I be?"

She nodded again, smiled at me, and walked to her cabin. I grabbed my trunk, and turned in the opposite direction towards to Poseidon cabin.

I slammed open the door only to be welcomed by the peace and quiet of the room. Luckily, there weren't any Poseidon kids here yet besides me, but Annabeth kept warning me that I'd better be prepared.

I sighed, put down my trunk, and flopped onto my bed. I shut my eyes, and before I knew it I was fast asleep.

Suddenly, I was awoken by knocking at the door. I groggily got up, and wiped the sleep out of my eyes, surprised that I couldn't remember my dreams.

I swung open the door, and gasped.


	2. Cheese Puffs

Annabeth POV:

"Wait," Percy asked. "So, tell me again why you were late to camp?"

Grover nervously chewed on a metal can. He had suddenly showed up at Percy's cabin, and now we were walking to the Big House to see Chiron.

"I've been really busy." Grover explained, sighing. "There have been half-bloods popping up all over the _world_. And don't get me started on the Council."

I looked over at him. He still looked the same. Rasta hat, messy hair, orange Camp Half- Blood shirt.

"It's okay, Grover. It's all for the good of society, right?" I encouraged him. I shot Percy a glare that told him to start comforting him_ now_.

"Yeah," Percy quickly added. "Yeah, man. If it wasn't for you, think about where_ I _would be. You're a hero."

Grover turned a little red, but got himself together. "Baaa. Thanks guys. But still, I haven't slept in days." He rubbed his eyes.

"Maybe Chiron can help." I shrugged. We had arrived at the Big House and the centaur himself was standing outside.

"Percy! Annabeth!" he smiled and spotted Grover. "Ah, Grover! When did you arrive?"

"Only about an hour ago." Grover replied.

Chiron nodded. "It's great to have you, young satyr. Why don't you all come into my office for some snacks?"

Grover's eyes got wide and he walked towards the Big House like he was in a trance. That was how he got around food.

Inside Chiron's office, I took a seat on a plush purple couch with Percy while Grover dove for the snacks on the center table. The centaur strode in and took a seat on his desk chair.

"So," he said, lacing his hands together. "How was your year so far? Percy, you first."

I turned to look at Percy, who was staring at something behind me. Or he could be looking I blushed a little bit, but then elbowed him to talk to Chiron.

"Oh, um. ." Percy's face colored and he looked over at me. I mouthed the words, "School," to him.

"Oh yeah!" Percy recovered. "School. I mean, school's okay. No monsters," Then he added, "Yet."

I grinned, and Chiron chuckled.

"What about you, Grover?" Chiron asked. Grover was in the corner, stuffing his mouth with little cheese puffs.

"Me?" Grover looked up suddenly, and some cheese puffs fell out of his mouth. "Oh, it's been very busy." He said, then went back to grabbing more cheese puffs.

Percy caught my eye, and we laughed quietly.

"Annabeth? How has your year been? I heard that you enrolled in a new school," Chiron nodded at me.

"Well," I started, excitement building inside of me. "The architectural classes are—,"

"Percy! Annabeth!" a voice came from the doorway.

"Rachel?" Percy and I exclaimed at the same time. I whipped my head around only to find Rachel Elizabeth Dare standing in Chiron's office.

"Rachel!" I smiled. I jumped out of my chair to give her a hug. She was wearing her usual paint-splattered jeans and a t-shirt with her father's company logo on it.

"How are you?" she asked while I was hugging her. "Is Percy treating you well?"

I laughed. "Yeah, he's treating me fine."

"How else would I treat her?" Percy said from behind me. He walked over to Rachel and gave her a small hug. I felt a little jealousy "ping" in my chest, but I ignored it. I didn't have to worry about Rachel anymore.

Last year, Rachel became the new Oracle, so she can't date. But I had a feeling that Percy wouldn't fall her anyway. They were just friends.

"Ah, Ms. Dare! You made it!" Chiron said. Rachel started to make her way to him, when she suddenly stopped. She shivered, and her eyes turned glowing green. She started to recite:

_"An old lost friend, sad and distressed_

_ Shall be the cause of this arduous quest_

_ A child of soul shall join your forces_

_ Trouble will come from lying forces_

_ Pain and love shall be put to the test_

_ In the race to see who's best."_

Then she collapsed.


	3. The Message

**Omigods! Sorry guys! I haven't updated in forever!! I've been REALLY busy, and I haven't been able to update! I'll try SUPER hard to get the next chapter in by AT LEAST this Sunday. Sorry, once again! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Percy POV:

"Rachel!" I exclaimed, and ran to her side.

"Chiron! Help!" I heard Annabeth call from behind me. The centaur rose from his chair and kneeled over Rachel. He grabbed something off his desk and twisted the cap off.

It was some sort of powder, and when he sprinkled it over her, it sparkled at the places where it touched her skin. She shivered and slowly opened her eyes, which were back to their usual blue.

"Rachel," I sighed with relief.

"Percy? Annabeth?" she muttered.

"Ms. Dare, we might want to take you to the spare guest room. You look exhausted," Chiron said, putting the bottle away.

Rachel opened her mouth as if she was going to protest, but Annabeth quickly added, "Yeah, Rachel, that might be a good idea. Being the Oracle can be tiring."

"Okay," Rachel allowed herself to get helped up.

"Do you need anyone to take you?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Annabeth start to glare at me, but she spotted me looking at her, blushed, and looked down.

"Um. ." Rachel looked around the room, and spotted Grover, who was staring at her in shock and horror. She turned to Chiron. "Grover?"

"Oh . .um sure. Where's the room, Chiron?" Grover asked.

"Down the hall to the left." The centaur said, and Rachel sauntered out of the room with Grover trailing behind.

As soon as Rachel was out of sight, Chiron turned and started pacing.

"Chiron," Annabeth asked nervously. "What exactly did Rachel's prophecy mean? Could it be the next Great Prophecy?"

"But the last Great Prophecy, the one that Rachel recited as soon as she became Oracle, that one hasn't even come true yet!" I added.

Chiron looked at us. "Good point, both of you. I don't believe that what Rachel just recited is the Great Prophecy, but I do know that it is a prophecy, and it is important. Just like the Prophecies that you two have heard, starting from when you were twelve, leading up to the main event last summer."

"Well," Annabeth shrugged. "What does it mean?"

Chiron sifted his gaze from us to the plate of snacks where Grover was sitting. "I don't know what it was about. We should hold a meeting to discuss it this evening."

Annabeth and I nodded in agreement. We had plenty of smart campers that could help us out.

"I am going to have to meet with Dionysus about this matter. And convince him to join us at the meeting. You two may return to your cabins and continue with your days' activities." Chiron sighed and turned his back to us.

"Okay. Thanks, Chiron," Annabeth said and pulled me out of the room.

As we started heading to the cabins, I could tell that Annabeth was anxious.

"Hey, don't worry," I reassured her. "It'll be fine."

Annabeth stopped short and looked at me sideways.

"It's not _that _easy, Seaweed Brain."

"It can be. You decipher the prophecy, and then let the rest of the campers—,"

"It's NOT that easy, Percy! This prophecy isn't the kind that we can wait around for. It's going to happen soon, and it might be happening now! What don't you understand about that? People could die!" she yelled.

My heart heaved. I hated Annabeth yelling at me. It made me feel so. . stupid compared to her.

Annabeth saw the hurt on my face and sighed. "I'm sorry, Percy, it's just that—,"

"No," I stopped her mid-sentence and continued to walk up the hill. I felt hurt and angry. "No need to be sorry. Come on, let's go."

As I continued to trudge up the hill, Annabeth stood wordlessly behind me.

I turned. "Are you coming?"

She swallowed. "Yeah," Quickly, she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Just go ahead. I'll see you at dinner." She turned and walked down the hill.

Now it was my turn to feel guilty. I didn't mean to sting her with my words like that. I sighed and walked up the hill towards my cabin.

Inside, I flopped on my bed and stared at the ceiling. The sun was already setting and the cabin was getting darker.

Suddenly, a blue glow lit up the room. I got up and glanced around the cabin. The saltwater fountain at the corner of the room was lighting up.

A rainbow shimmered against the water, and steam rose up from the dancing liquids. I walked up to it, and a soft female voice said, _"One golden drachma please_."

I spun on my heels, dashed to my bedside table and dug through it, until I found the sparkly gold coin. I pitched it into the water.

The steam fell, and a scene was visible through the waters. It was a young girl, with caramel colored hair and a pretty white dress that she was probably freezing in.

Calypso.

She looked lost and scared as she wandered through dark streets alone. My heart flipped. How did she get off Ogygia? Was she safe? Where was she?

"Calypso?" I called into the water, though I was sure that she wouldn't hear me.

Calypso seemed to spot something in the distance. She looked at me through scared eyes. "No, no, no! Help me. Somebody help me please!"

I felt dizzy. She looked absolutely terrified.

The water switched off, and I lunged for the door. I needed to tell Annabeth.

Oh wait, I forgot, she hates me at the moment.


	4. Straw Dummies and Sword Fights

Annabeth POV:

"Annabeth?" my half-brother Malcom called. I sliced the dummy's arm, and turned to find Malcom at the door of the arena.

"Are you coming to dinner?" He asked hopefully. I shook my head.

Malcom sighed. "Okay." He tried to smile. "See you at the sing along."

I couldn't blame him for being a bit frustrated at me. I had been here for hours, and I had destroyed over seven straw dummies.

I struck at the dummy's waist and it split in half. Now it was my turn to sigh. I put down the practice sword and took a seat on the bench.

I was drenched in sweat, and my hair was a mess. With the back of my hand, I wiped some sweat from my forehead and glanced around the arena.

This place reminded me so much of Luke. Before he . . . turned bad, he would spend several hours a day here, practicing. I remembered how I would watch him. I would wish nothing but to be exactly like him. But now . . he wasn't here.

I was surprised when I found some tears slipping down my face.

"Stop it, Annabeth." I told myself as I swiped the tears away. Footsteps suddenly echoed through the empty arena.

"Hey." Percy slid next to me on the bench.

Great. He was the last person I wanted to see. Thank Gods I wasn't crying anymore.

I turned my back to him, but he just stood up and walked to the other side of the bench to take a seat. We continued this game for about a minute until I let some of my anger spill.

"Just leave me alone, Percy." I scowled. He didn't budge.

I rose from the bench and picked up the practice sword. Percy got up too. While I turned my back for a second to get another straw dummy, Percy grabbed my arm and spun me to face him. He pulled out his sword, Riptide.

"You can fight me, can't you?" he asked. "I need practice."

I refused to smile, but replied, "Good point. You're going down."

Percy gave me a small smile. "Thanks."

My heart felt strange. I felt a little mad about the way he had blown me off on the hill, but I also felt like I just wanted to give up and apologize. On the hill, he had made me feel like a jerk. A jerk who rattled off random information and a jerk that always had to be right. That sure helped _my_ self-confidence.

He uncapped his sword and it grew into three feet of Celestial bronze. He stood ready.

I looked at him. His sea-green eyes full of concentration. His shaggy black hair hung in his face, but he seemed to be ready anyway. What was I putting myself up for?

I drew my sword, at the ready. I swiped at his waist, but he knew me too well. I was too competitive, too aggressive, and he knew that I wanted to get this over with. His sword hit the base of mine, and he twisted. My sword almost flew out of my hands, but I saved it.

I shook him off and straightened myself out. He wasn't wearing any armor, which worried me a little, but after that last shot, I didn't care.

I tried for his chest, but he put his sword across his body in a diagonal line, and blocked the shot. With my blade against his, he turned it quickly, so before I knew it, my sword clattered to the ground.

Percy glanced at me and picked up my sword. He handed it to me and said, "One more."

I inhaled. I was exhausted. Not just because of the fighting, I was exhausted because I just wanted to give up, but I didn't want Percy to see me like that. Wait, he's my best friend, I thought, it should be okay to see him like that. Or at least he _was_ my best friend.

I shook some loose blonde hair out of my face and faced Percy. He was studying my face, tracing circles with his green eyes.

This time, I struck against his sword. The metal clattered together. I twisted, like he had done earlier, and got my sword out of his lock. I went up closer with my sword in front me. Percy struck for my waist and I barely blocked it. Using most of my energy, I spun around, which was pretty risky, but when I was facing Percy, his sword was on the ground. He was smiling again.

"Nice," he said.

I nodded my thank you and started heading towards the door. He ran and stepped in front of me so I practically ran into him.

"What?" I scowled again.

"Annabeth, look," Percy said. "First of all, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for blowing up at you on the hill. But there's something else I came here for."

That stung a little; the fact that something else was a little more important, but he looked nervous . . . even a little bit scared.

I sighed. "And I'm sorry too Percy. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just that the prophecy seems pretty scary and there's . . . other stuff on my mind. So, I'm sorry."

Percy was smiling, and his eyes got his twinkle back. I grinned at him.

"Great. Anyway, I need to tell you about something that happened when I was in my cabin."

"What?"

"Someone sent me an Iris-message."

This was news. I knew that Percy had a saltwater spring in his cabin, but no one really sent him messages unless it was completely necessary.

"Who sent it to you?" I asked.

Percy shrugged. "I'm not sure." He walked out of the arena and turned to me. "You are coming to dinner, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Get to the point. What was in the message?"

"Oh . . . um," Percy stammered. He even got a little red.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain? You forgot the message?"

"N—no. I didn't forget it. I just . . ." he trailed off.

"Yeah?"

"Calypso."

"Calypso?"

"Yeah. Calypso. Remember a few years back? Mt. Saint Helens? When you thought I was dead? That's where I was. With Calypso."

And all I remember from the moment was my fist flying out in front of me hitting the target perfectly.

**A/N: Hope you liked this chapter!! :D This was my first time EVER writing a sword fight...especially between Percy and Annabeth. :] Review if you'd like!**


	5. Arguing, Arguing, and More Arguing

Percy POV:

"OW?!" I yelled. "What was that for?"

Annabeth glared at me and started heading to the forest. I grabbed her arm, despite my aching stomach where she had punched me.

"What?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry." I said.

Her expression softened a bit. "What?"

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stormed in and just talked about Calypso. I just . . I just thought that you were the only person that would actually care about what I said."

Annabeth sighed and looked away. "I'm sorry too, Percy. I'll help you. And, sure, I'll help Calypso. But I'm only doing it for you, okay? And if you try anything like that again—"

"You'll kick my butt," I cut in. "What else is new?"

She smiled, and I let go of her arm.

"So, Seaweed Brain," she said. "We still gotta get to that meeting about the prophecy, don't we? Or did you have other plans?"

I smiled at her. "I'm free. You?"

"Same," she laughed, and we headed over to the dining hall.

When we arrived at the mess hall, we were in a pretty good mood. While passing the cabins, we had spotted Grover sitting nervously with Juniper, his girlfriend, munching on a metal can. We picked him up and continued our walk.

But as soon as we entered the mess hall, all the happy feelings drained from us when we saw everyone else's expressions.

Chiron and Mr. D were in their usual position; Chiron was wearing a grim expression and Dionysus was playing lazily with his Diet Coke can.

The other campers were scattered all over the room arguing with each other. Clarisse was pounding her fists on the table while Chris Rodriguez, her boyfriend, was trying to calm her down. Other newcomers were sitting together looking lost and nervous.

Chiron spotted us and he smiled in relief. "Ah, Percy, Annabeth, Grover! There you are! We were waiting for you!"

The noise in the room was put to a halt except for Clarisse, who glared at me.

"Come join us, children. Now we can get down to business. Everyone at their tables!"

I took a seat at the Poseidon table alone while the Ares, Athena, Apollo, and other cabins were fighting over spots on the bench.

"Settle down," Chiron called and a hush spread over the room once again. "Thank you. I will read aloud the Prophecy. Please save your comments and questions until the very end.

"_An old lost friend, sad and distressed_

_ Shall be the cause of this arduous quest_

_ A child of soul shall join your forces_

_ Trouble will come from lying forces_

_ Pain and love shall be put to the test_

_ In the race to see who's best."_

"Let's start from the beginning," Annabeth suggested. "That always helps."

Chiron nodded in approval. "Good idea. _An old lost friend, sad and distressed_. That is the first line. Any ideas?"

"An old lost friend?" Malcolm, Annabeth's half-brother asked. "Does that mean old, as in age?"

I suddenly thought back to Calypso. She looked lost. And she was an old friend. I had met her when I was fifteen. The year that Luke turned into Kronos.

My thoughts wandered. What if Calypso was part of this quest? She looked distressed and sad.

I wanted to tell Chiron, but suddenly, the thought embarrassed me. I wasn't sure if I wanted the whole camp to hear about whom I was with when they thought I was dead.

The meeting passed. We didn't really get anywhere. The only line that we got was "A child of soul shall join your forces". We were all pretty sure that meant a child of Aphrodite.

But still. All we did was argue. And argue. Different kids had different ideas about what the prophecy meant.

The Ares kids thought that this was going to turn into a huge war, which was pretty usual for them. They thought everything was going to turn into a war.

The Athena kids, surprising enough, were pretty stumped. Annabeth was getting _really_ frustrated that she didn't know. And she looked a little upset at the fact that we would have an Aphrodite girl with us.

Finally, we headed back to our cabins to get ready for dinner. I made it a point to stop before I entered to talk to Chiron about Calypso.

"Um . . . Chiron?" I asked. The centaur turned and looked down at me.

"Yes, Percy?"

"Uh . . . I have to tell you something."

"I assumed so," Chiron smiled. "What is it?"

I turned a little red, but I continued. "I think I know something about the prophecy."

Chiron's face turned serious. "Yes? What about it?"

I gulped. "I think I know who the 'old, lost friend' is."

Chiron nodded, as if to tell me to continue.

"Remember the year when we went through the Labyrinth? Annabeth thought I was dead, but I was really with . . . . Calypso?"

"Ah, Calypso. The beautiful maiden on Ogygia?"

I blushed again. "Yeah. Her."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well . . . today I was in my cabin, and someone sent me an Iris-message. I wasn't sure who, but it showed Calypso," my heart squeezed in my chest just thinking about it. "And she looked lost. And scared. Then, she saw something in the distance, and started calling for help."

Chiron stroked his beard. "Thank you, Percy, for telling me that. It helps us determine more about the prophecy."

I nodded and started to leave.

"Percy?" Chiron called again from behind me. I turned. "You know what this means, correct?"

"Um . . . no?"

"Start packing up. You're going on another quest."


	6. Author's Note!

**Hey guys!!! :D :D **

** I know that I haven't updated in a LONG TIME!! A month. . . . maybe.. : ( I'm supa supa sorry but I've been CRAZY busy!! School, school, musicals, and THE PERCY JACKSON MOVIE WHICH I THOUGHT WAS AMAZING!! (LOGAN!! :D ).**

** So, I just wanted to apologize for that and give you guys some news. I'm going on vacation from Sunday (2/14) to Friday (2/19). I won't be able to update for a few reasons. A) I'm going on a cruise. It's kind of hard to do it in the middle of the ocean. :D B) It's VACATION! I love FanFic but my life has been CRAZY for a little while, so this is my time to take a break. :D **

** Just be a little patient for mee (like I know you guys have been doing a while) and I promise that I will please you! :D :D **

** LOVE YOU ALLL!!! : D**

** -movystr2b **


	7. Sleeping with a Smile

**Author's Note the bottom!! Enjoy! :D**

Annabeth POV:

"Ogygia," I muttered to myself while flipping through the pages of my book. "Ogygia."

Nothing. Again. I had been looking all over for information on the island and I hadn't found anything.

From what I _had_ heard about the island, it was a phantom island, meaning that it appeared in the middle of nowhere. It was home to Calypso, a daughter of Atlas, who was confined there forever. Almost like house arrest.

Then, suddenly, I realized something else. _Every one hundred years_, I remembered Chiron saying, _the gods send a hero to Ogygia who Calypso can't help but fall in love with. _

I rolled my eyes and slammed the book. Why was I even doing this stupid research in the first place? As I got up from my bunk, I put the book away and stepped outside. I needed some fresh air.

"Annabeth!" I heard Percy call breathlessly from my right. I turned and he jogged up to me. "Quest. We're going on one. Chiron told me to tell you to get ready."

"A quest?" I repeated. "To do what?"

He blushed, and I rolled my eyes. I obviously didn't need an answer to that. "So, we have to go on a quest to find _Calypso_?"

"Yeah," Percy replied. "But. . ."

"She could be anywhere," I finished. He nodded and his black hair flopped infront of his eyes.

"But we should at least _try_ to look, right?" Percy asked, looking at me. I dropped my gaze from his face to the ground so his green eyes wouldn't tempt me into making the wrong choice. But, he was right. We should.

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I'll get ready and meet you by Half-Blood Hill in half an hour."

Percy nodded, and looked like he was about to say something else, but he stopped. "Okay," he agreed and walked off to his cabin.

My heart dropped. I could still tell that he was still hurt by my words at the arena and my reaction to Calypso. I shook the thoughts out of my head and returned to my cabin to pack.

"So, you, Percy, and Grover are willing to go?" Chiron asked as we stood atop Half-Blood Hill.

I nodded confidently, but inside I felt nervous. Chiron had asked us that a few times in the last hour. Was he scared for us?

"Okay," Chiron patted Percy on the shoulder and I hugged him. "Good luck, children. Stay in touch with Iris-messages. See you three later!"

We nodded and trudged down the hill to Argus, who was waiting by the car. He was going to take us to the city, because that was where it looked like Calypso was, according to the Iris-message.

"Chiron seems nervous," Percy whispered as we got into the car.

"I know," I replied.

"Why?"

"I don't know, Percy," I said. "How dangerous could this be? I mean, we just need to find Calypso, don't we? How hard can that be? It's not like she's dead."

Percy's face twisted into an expression of hurt and pain. Wow. I didn't know he cared _that _much.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. He looked at me and grinned grudgingly.

"It's okay. Come on, let's go and find her. I think that you'd really like her, actually, but anyway. . ." he went on to talk to Grover.

Meanwhile, my thoughts were brewing. This quest was to find Calypso and to find Calypso _only_, right? This wasn't the 'arduous quest' thing. . . was it? Secretly, I hoped it wasn't. I just wanted to find this Calypso girl, bring her back to whatever, and then do the quest if we were the ones doing it. That was it. I didn't want to have to deal with Calypso through the whole process. She was probably some frilly girl that couldn't fight at all.

"Annabeth?" Percy shook my shoulder, interrupting my thoughts. I jumped slightly.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly, but gestured outside. "We're getting out, if you wanna come."

I looked at him like he was crazy, and I followed Grover and him out of Argus's car. Percy leaned through the front window, talking to Argus, while Grover played a bored tune on his reed pipes, and Percy soon returned.

"Where should we start?" he asked. There was an awkward silence—I guess we didn't really know where to look. Percy was looking at me expectantly, and I sighed. Sometimes I felt like _too_ much was expected of me.

Then I stopped myself midway though that thought. What are you talking about, Annabeth? You love it when people ask for your help! Isn't that the point? I rolled my eyes to myself and turned to Percy.

"Try to remember exactly where you saw her in your dream," I suggested. "We'll try to pinpoint a location, then."

Percy nodded and stared off into the distance as he tried to recall the Iris-message.

"Um . . I think it was some sort of dark alleyway," he replied. But his tone was different, as if he had a hard time talking about it.

I sighed and gave him an exasperated look. I tried not to make it so harsh, but I couldn't help say, "Nice job, Seaweed Brain, that really narrows it down."

Percy's shoulders sagged and he reached up to rub his eyes. Grover yawned. I looked around, confused. Were they _tired_?

"Are you guys okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Percy lied. "Let's keep looking."

"We're not okay, but it's fine," Grover added. I sighed. Boys, I thought, shaking my head.

"C'mon, we'll find some place to crash for the night and we'll continue looking in the morning."

They didn't protest that time, and we snagged a room at a nearby hotel with the help of the rather tall stack of golden drachmas we had brought along. The room had two beds, so one person was going to use the couch.

"I call a regular bed!" I announced when we stepped into the room. I lay down on the bed, and I had to admit, I was a little tired.

"Same!" Percy called. We both looked over at Grover, who sighed.

"Baa," he muttered. "Who cares? I'm just. ." he staggered over to the couch and flopped down. ". . . gonna take a little nap." And he was asleep.

Percy lay down on the bed and turned so he faced me. I was still sitting up straight, so I turned to look at him sideways.

"Productive day?" I asked.

He nodded, making me smile, but soon, his face turned serious. "I don't know, Annabeth," he said, casting his eyes towards the ground. "I—I feel like she's close by. I have no idea how, but you know last summer? When you took that knife for me?"

I turned a little red thinking about it, but it was true. Last summer, during the big war, Ethan was about to stab Percy. . .and with luck he might have gotten his Achilles spot. But I had taken the knife for him. "Yeah."

"I somehow knew you were in danger. I feel the same way now. . . with Calypso. She's near by. . . and in danger."

I could feel my face getting red again, but not from embarrassment. He was comparing me, a friend he's had for almost six years, to a random girl, who's dad was a Titan and whom he'd only know for about two weeks? I turned my back to him and flopped down on my bed. I pulled the covers over my head.

"Annabeth," Percy sighed.

"What?" I turned to face him again. His sea-green eyes were boring into mine. Gods, how did he _do_ that?

"Calm down," a hint of a smile was poking at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you laughing?" I grumbled.

"No," he replied and turned off the light.

"Percy Jackson, if you think that I cannot see that stupid grin on your face in the dark, you are wrong!" And just then, came the loudest snore _ever_ from Grover. Perfect timing, I thought sarcastically.

Soon, he was laughing. Laughing hard, but not hard enough that Grover woke up. There was something about his laugh. Something that made me want to laugh too. I know that didn't happen to everyone, but it happened to me. Maybe it was a sign, I smiled to myself.

So I started laughing. Soon we were both laughing so hysterically that our eyes were watering.

"You—you should have seen yourself," Percy dabbed at the corner of his eye. He mimicked me by pulling the covers over his head in a pouty fashion.

"What? It's not my fault!" I protested, grinning.

"Goodnight, Wise Girl," he said, closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Seaweed Brain," I replied, closing my eyes.

And for the first time in weeks, I went to sleep with a smile.

**A/N: Please, please don't kill me…?? :D I'm SUPER sorry that I haven't updated in FOREVER. My life has NEVER been so busy..seriously. Thank you for understanding about the cruise thing. . .you guys are the bestest best people ever. And this chapter isn't one of my best. **

** So, in order for me to update faster, here's a little deal. If I get 23 reviews, I'll get the next chapter up. I'm gonna start doing this with ALL my stories. Kk?? Kk. THANX! I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!! Review if you want me to upload faster!!**


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